SALINAS &GT;&GT; Tight county reserves exacerbated by a multi-million dollar parks department deficit from last fiscal year may be claiming another set of spending priorities.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will be asked to allocate $325,000 to county Public Works for operating the Chualar sewer system and developing a master plan and rate study, as well as $130,000 to help pay for two fire warden positions through the county”s Resource Management Agency for six months starting in January.

The Chualar sewer funding is designed to help position the system to be more self-sufficient, perhaps in preparation for a private takeover. The system collects far less in customer revenue than it costs to operate and has required expensive, county-funded emergency repairs in recent years, The county recently sent out a request for expressions of interest from private firms in taking control of the Chualar system, but received no takers. The county could consider bundling it with other county controlled systems in Boronda and Pajaro.

Cal Fire originally agreed to fund the fire warden positions using grant money, according to a staff report. It is now requesting some county financial support for a project layout and grant management position and a fire warden education, planning and fire code position. The staff report indicated the positions could eventually be funded by grants or fee increases.

Resource Management Agency director Benny Young acknowledged he”s less confident of getting the funding since a county budget committee report last week outlined the pressures on the general fund contingency account. In just the first few weeks of this fiscal year that account has been drained from about $5.4 million to less than $500,000.

Young said he had been “optimistic” about getting the funding for this week”s requests, along with about $150,000 for Fort Ord trails and maintenance work slated for next week”s board meeting. But then he heard the report, which outlined how a $2.4 million parks department shortfall from last fiscal year had sucked up a major portion of the discretionary account usually reserved for emergency needs.

The parks deficit is blamed largely on decreased revenue from the two South County lakes as a result of the drought, as well as hydroelectric plant repairs at Lake Nacimiento that forced accelerated water releases from Lake San Antonio.

Lake San Antonio is below 4 percent capacity and appears likely to be closed to visitors later this year.

County officials and others had expressed hope the reserve account could be used to avoid more than a dozen parks employee layoffs at the South County lakes and to help pay for three key county Water Resources Agency projects, including the Interlake Tunnel, the Salinas River maintenance and management program, and the Salinas River diversion permit project.

Those requests are also scheduled for next week”s board meeting, but the parks deficit has made them considerably more challenging.

Tuesday”s board meeting will also include a report on the 2010 general plan implementation requested by Supervisor Jane Parker and land use interest groups, consideration of authorizing Monterey Salinas Transit to place a one-eighth-cent countywide sales tax measure on the November general election ballot and a proposal to loan the county Information Technology department $3 million from the worker”s compensation fund for a series of upgrades and equipment replacement needs.

The supervisors are also set to receive a closed session update on the county”s pursuit of the vacant Capital One complex off Abbott Street in Salinas, and to consider paying for “due diligence” work related to the potential acquisition of the office and warehouse complex by adding it to a future purchase loan.